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Speed-Clean Your Fireplace in 15 Minutes

Illustration of a campfire

Take your fireplace from filthy to flawless in just 15 minutes. Here’s what you’ll need: a kneeling pad, a shovel and brush set, a scrub brush, glass cleaner, an apron, a large plastic tarp, rubber gloves, a lidded trash can, used coffee grounds, a spray bottle filled with water, dishwashing liquid, a soft cloth, and paper towels.

 

 

 

 

  • Start here: Wait at least 24 hours after you’ve burned your last fire so the ashes cool thoroughly.
  • Minute 1: Put on an apron and lay a plastic tarp in front of the fireplace.
  • Minute 2: Situate yourself on a kneeling pad. Wearing rubber gloves, remove logs, tinder, and the grate; set aside on the tarp. Keep burnable logs; toss badly charred logs into the trash.
  • Minutes 3 to 5: Sprinkle a handful of used coffee grounds on the ashes to minimize flyaways. Sweep each interior wall top to bottom with the fireplace brush. Shovel the ashes into a pan, then dump the debris into the trash.
  • Minute 6: Sweep each screen top to bottom with the fireplace brush.
  • Minutes 7 to 10: Tackle the exterior. For brick: Spray water onto sooty areas followed by hearth cleaner. (For bricks more than 50 years old, use only water—no hearth cleaner.) Clean with a scrub brush, spritz with water, then use a soft cloth to dry. For iron: Spray with hearth cleaner, rinse with water, and use paper towels to dry. For marble and stone: Spray residue with water, clean with dishwashing liquid and a cloth, rinse, and dry.
  • Minutes 11 to 12: If the fireplace has glass doors, apply hearth cleaner to the back and front of each door, then wipe down one panel at a time, removing the cleaner before it dries.
  • Minutes 13 to 14: To polish tools and grates, place them on the tarp, spray with hearth cleaner, and wipe clean with paper towels.
  • Minute 15: Replace the grate and logs. Carefully ball up and toss the tarp. Take the trash can outside. Now draw the screens, close the doors, and kick back. But don’t make a fire just yet. You should enjoy that sparkling-new fireplace for at least a few days, right?

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